James Leary, LMSC

Psychoanalytic and Behavioral Psychotherapist

My patients come to therapy to confront personal suffering and explore big questions about love, work, and what makes a satisfying and useful life. By cultivating curiosity about ourselves, we can become more aware of our disavowed parts, which, in turn, can allow us to live more realistically, productively, and joyfully.

I work with an integrated approach of psychodynamic depth work (exploring how patterns of experience and identity have evolved over time) and behavioral therapies (CBT and DBT therapies designed to treat specific problems). My specialties include working with artists; the treatment of trauma, anxiety, depression, and eating disorders; helping individuals with disabilities navigate mental health; working with adoptees and adoptive families; exploration of identity and embodiment with LGBTQ individuals; treatment of substance and alcohol misuse; and exploration of love and intimate relationships. My orientation is rooted in the belief that knowing oneself deeply will have complex positive effects and that being honest with oneself is central to health.

I completed my graduate training at Columbia University with a Master’s degree in clinical social work and am currently a fellow at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union, where I taught drawing and painting from 2013 to 2020. I co-founded the artist's collective The Bruce High Quality Foundation which ran BHQFU, a tuition-free experimental art school in lower Manhattan. My work has been exhibited at The Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA PS1, Centre Pompidou, and the Sundance Film Festival. My work in the arts has given me a lens for viewing the therapeutic process as collaborative, generative, and creative.

I work with children, adolescents, and adults.

I offer sliding scale fees.

For a consultation, email me at jameslearytherapist@gmail.com or call at 347-580-5749.